Viscosity reduction of petroleum mahogany sulfonate hydrocarbon solutions



Patented Nov. 30, 1948 VISCOSITY REDUCTION OF PETROLEUM MAHOGANYSULFONATE HYDROCAR- BON SOLUTIONS Jacob Faust, Belleville, N. J.,assignor to L. Sonneborn Sons, Inc., a corporation of Delaware NoDrawing. Application July 1, 1947, Serial No. 758,463

garding the purpose for which the sulfonate solutions are to be used.There are, however,

many cases in which a relatively high viscosity is undesirable ordetrimental to their intended use or application. This is, for example,true in textile processing such as of wool, worsted, rayon, viscose orthe like in which the various processin steps involved in the conversionof the raw materials into fibres, the formation of the fibres intothreads and the weaving of the threads into fabric, require the presenceof a lubricating agent having a Saybolt viscosity of below 600 andpreferably below 300 seconds Saybolt at 100 F. The latter isparticularly true of textile lubricants used in the processing ofsynthetic fibres. In the case of textile processing it is for instancedesirable to have a hydrocarbon textile lubricant composition with asulfonate content of in excess of 28% mahogany sulfonates so as torenderthe composition not only readily and spontaneously h emulsifiable butalso to make the same readily wettable or rewettable on the fibre tothereby impart to the textile material substantial selfscourability.Hydrocarbon solutions of the textile lubricant type and containing inexcess of 28% of petroleum mahogany sulfonates possess, however, aviscosity far in excess of 600 seconds Saybolt at 100 F. and usually aviscosity in excess of 1000 seconds Saybolt at 100 F. For

. this reason it has been necessary in the past in such cases to limitthe sulfonate content to a maximum of approximately 15% in order not toexceed the usable viscosity for textile material treating purposes.Another example is the use of petroleum mahogany sulfonates in thecompounding of cutting oil bases in which the relatively high viscosityand tackiness imparted to the composition by the sulfonates is anundesirable aspect interfering in many respects with the proper ease ofapplication and use.

The relatively high viscosity of petroleum mahogany sulfonates inorganic solvents is normally not subject to reduction by the addition ofrelatively low viscous diluents or thinning agents. This requires agentsof such relatively low viscositythat they interfere with the lubricatingproperties of the composition. Furthermore, these solvents are then ofthe type which easily evaporate. This is particularly critical in thecase of textile treating materials since the use of such thinningsolvents will leave behind on the fibre upon evaporation a viscoussticky impregnant without adequate lubricating capacity on the fibre andwill also interfere with the scourability of the impregnated material.other hand thinning with a solvent of the lubricant type diluent willnot obtain the desired result as it is necessary to add so much of thediluent as to bring the sulfonate content to below that necessary foradequate emulsification or other purpose for which the composition isdesigned.

One object of the invention comprises inter alia the viscosity reductionof petroleum mahogany sulfonates in organic solvent solutions.

Another object of the invention comprises viscosity reduced petroleummahogany sulfonate solutions.

These and further objects of the invention will appear from thefollowing description.

A suitable petroleum mahogany sulfonate solution in an organicsubstantially water immiscible solvent for said sulfonate is treatedwith at least one member selected from the group consisting ofsubstantially oil soluble glycols and alkylene glycol ethers in amountsufficient to thereby appreciably lower the viscosity of said solutiondue to the sulfonate dissolved thereir and preferably reduce saidviscosity by at least one-third.

The solvents that may be used for this purpose should not appreciablydissolve inorganic saltsand should be substantially liquid at normaltemperatures. Suitable solvents that may be used in the practice of theinvention are, for instance, petroleum oil clistillates or any fractionthereof, benzol and its homologs, naphtha, carbon tetrachloride,tetrachlorethane, chloroform, etc., and in general any aromatic oraliphatic or aryl or aralkyl hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon mixtureineluding their halogenated derivatives of the aforedescribed characterand nature. In many cases, particularly where the solvent is to beremoved after the viscosity reducing treatment, it is desirable to havethe boiling range of such solvent sufi'iciently low to permit removal inthe customary manner, such as by distillation in vacuo or otherwisewithout causing thereby any decomposition of the mahogany sulfonates. Insuch cases it is of advantage that the boiling point be so low andpreferably between and 250 F. as to enable the removal of the solvent atordinary temperatures without the necessity of resorting to vacuumdistillation.

The petroleum mahogany sulfonate which is On the therein petroleummahogany sulfonic acids collectively referred to as mahogany petroleumsulfonic acids. These are recovered from the oil layer in accordancewith conventional methods in the form of solutions of these sulfonicacids or their salts (the latter being collectively termed "petroleummahogany sulfonates) in a portion of the oil relatively tenaciouslyoccluded by these sulfonic bodies. This occluded oil is generallyreferred to in the art as retained oil. The petroleumsulfonic acids orsulfonate oil compositions normally contain about 30 to 35% of retainedoil and 65 to 70% of the petroleum mahogany sulfonic material. Dependinupon the type and origin of petroleum oil distillates from which thesesulfonate-oil solutions or stocks are derived they contain sulfonates ofvarying averaged molecular weights. For convenience therefore thesulfonate stocks are identified by their average molecular weights.Thus, a 420 or 450 sulfonate stock is a stock in which the sulfonateshave an average molecular weight of 420 or 450 respectively.

The aforementioned group member materials should preferably be oilsoluble, and good results are, for instance, obtained with diethyleneglycol ethyl ether and preferably diethylene glycol monoethyl ether,diethylene glycol butyl ether and preferably diethylene glycol monobutylether. The majority of the group member agents useful in accordance withthe invention are oil soluble and substantially water insoluble. Thereare, however, some agents that may be used in accordance with theinvention which though oil soluble are also to some extent water solublesuch as the glycols. Among these diethylene glycol is recommended. i

Within the scope of my invention and for best results I may use'from 0.5to 5% and preferably from 1 to 3% of the viscosity reducing agent inaccordance with the invention calculated by weight of sulfonates presentin solution.

In the practical application of the invention,

a suitable petroleum mahogany sulfonate solution in a solvent of theaforedescribed character and nature is intimately contacted with one ormore of the aforementioned viscosity reducing agents. treatmentcontinued until the desired viscosity reduction is obtained which isusually achieved quite rapidly. In fact, in many cases the desiredviscosity reduction is obtained once thorough intermingling of thecomponents is procured.

The temperature of reaction is ordinarily not critical. The reaction,however, may be facilitated by increasing the temperature to, forexample, a preferred temperature of from 120 to 200 F. This isparticularly desirable with more heavily viscous solutions as the highertemperature will increase the fluidity of the solution, thus permittingmore intimate contact between the reactants.

The extent to which low viscosity values may be obtained depends, atleast to some extent, upon the type or origin of the petroleum mahoganysulfonate selected for the treatment. Ordinarily higher averagemolecular weight sulfonates pos- The mix is preferably agitated and'the4 sess a higher viscosity and the resulting viscosity after treatment isusually commensurately higher than the viscosity after treatment of acomparative sulfonate hydrocarbon solution which before treatmentpossessed a relatively lower viscosity and in which the sulfonate had alesser average molecular weight.

The ratio of petroleum mahogany sulfonate to solvent is, as a rule, notcritical except that it is desirable to so adjust the ratio that theviscosity of the solution is sufficiently low at the desired or selectedtemperature of treatment to permit the intimate contact between thereactants. In most cases, however. a ratio of mahogany sulfonate tosolvent of substantially 2 to 1 (by weight) will give satisfactoryresults.

Sulfonate concentrations above 70 to 75% sulfonate content are normallynot desirable for direct reaction without suitable extension. As a modeof agitation, any conventional method such as stirring, air-blowing,shaking, etc. may be used.

As above pointed out, the viscosity reducing treatment in accordancewith the invention may be carried out with an organic solvent solutioncontaining relatively high concentrations of petroleum mahoganysulfonate. In this case the resultant product is a concentrate which inmany cases must be thereafter adjusted by the addition of organicsolvent material of suitable viscosity. such as a suitable lubricanthydrocarbon, to the requisite petroleum mahogany sulfonate contentdesired for the specific purpose for which the composition is to beused. Thus, for instance, if it is desired to ultimately produce atextile treating oil having in excess of 28% petroleum mahoganysulfonate and a viscosity of less than 600 seconds Saybolt at 100 F., aconcentrate having in excess of 40% and usually between 60 desired andintended for the purpose for which the viscosity reduced productis to beused. In that case it is also of advantage to select for the solutionsuch solvent as is desired for the final product, i. e, if a textilelubricating oil is intended to be ultimately obtained atextilelubricantyhaving, for instance, a viscosity between 40 and 150 secondsSaybolt at 100 F. is selected as the solvent for the sulfonatea Theproduct resulting from the viscosity reducing treatment is then per'seusable after such further refining or purification as may be requiredfor a textile treating oil.

Though in the operation of the novel viscosity reducing process any ofthe aforementioned solvents may be used with advantage, I prefer to 'useas the solvent that hydrocarbon fraction,

' convenient mahogany sulfonate solution that may be subjected directlyto treatment in accordance with the invention.

The following examples are furnished by way of illustration and not oflimitation.

Example I 100 lbs. of a petroleum mahogany sulfonate stock (sodiumsulfonates) containing about 62% sulfonate and about 38% retained oilwas used. The stock was obtained from a Gulf Coast distillate subjectedto conventional fuming sulfuric acid refining under sulfonatingconditions. The mahogany sulfonates in the stock possessed an averagemolecular weight of 450. The stock possessed a furol viscosity of 140 at210 F. and upon extension with a mineral pale oil (75 seconds Saybolt at100 F.) to a 30% sulfonatecontent, a viscosity of 2150 seconds Sayboltat 100 F.

About 3 lbs. of ethylene glycol monoethyl ether was intimately mixedwith the non-extended sulfonate stock at a temperature for the stock ofabout 180 F. The stock was agitated while the glycol ether was added andagitation was continued until a sample exhibited a furol viscosity of34-seconds at 210 F. Upon extension to a 30% sulfonate content with theaforementioned-75 vis. mineral pale oil a viscosity of 425 secondsSaybolt at 100 F. was noted;

Emample II 100 lbs. of the same 450 (140 furol at 210 F.) stock used inExample I was admixed with about 3 lbs. of ethylene glycol monophenylether following the procedure outlined in Example I. Agitation wascontinued until a sample exhibited a furol viscosity of 32 seconds at210 F. Upon extension to a 30% sulfonate content with the 75 -vis.mineral pale oil specified in Example I, a viscosity of 415 secondsSaybolt at 100 F. was noted.

Example III 100 lbs. of the same 450 sulfonate stock (140 furol at 210F.) specified in Examples I and II was admixed and treated in the mannerspecified in these examples with about 3 lbs. of diethylene glycolmonoethyl ether. Agitation was continued until a sample exhibited afurcl viscosity of 40 seconds at 210 F. Upon extension to a 30%sulfonate content with the 75 vis. mineral pale oil specified in ExampleI a viscosity of 450 seconds Saybolt at 100 F. was noted.

The foregoing description is for purposes of illustration and not oflimitation and it is thereiore my intention that the invention belimited only by the appended claims of their equivalents wherein I haveendeavored to claim broadly all inherent noveltv.

I claim:

1. A viscosity reduced petroleum mahogany sulfonate solution whichessentially consists of a 6 which said group member is monoethyl etherof diethylene glycol.

3. A viscosity reduced petroleum mahogany sulfonate solution inaccordance with claim 1 in which said group member is butyl ether ofdiethylene glycol.

4. A viscosity reduced petroleum mahogany sulfonate solution inaccordance with claim 1 in which said organic solvent is retained" oil.

5. A viscosity reduced petroleum mahogany sodium sulfonate solutionwhich essentially consists of a solution of in excess of 28% petroleummahogany sodium sulfonate in a solvent for said sulfonate of thepetroleum hydrocarbon type having a viscosity substantially between 40and 150 seconds Saybolt at 100 F., said solution having normally aviscosity appreciably in excess of 600 seconds Saybolt at 100 F. due tosaid sulfonate dissolved therein, and, substantially dissolved in saidsolution, 0.5 to 5% of at least one member sodium sulfonate in retainedoil, said solution petroleum'mahogany Sodium sulfonate solution bolt atF. to a point sufficiently low to yield upon extension to a 28-40%sulfonate content with a solvent of the petroleum hydrocarbon typehaving a viscosity of from 40 to seconds Saybolt at 100 F., a viscosityof the extended solution below 600 seconds Saybolt at 100 F,

7. A substantially self-scouring lubricated textile material whichcomprises a textile material impregnated with a viscosity reducedpetroleum mahogany sulfonate solution essentially consisting or apetroleum mahogany sodium sulfonate solution in an organic substantiallywater immiscible solvent for said sulfonate having normally a relativelyhigh viscosity due to said sulfonate dissolved therein of in excess of600 seconds Saybolt at 100 F. for a sulfonate content of at least 28%,and, substantially dissolved in said solution 0.5 to 5% of at least onemember selected from the group consisting of substantially oil solublediethylene glycol and diethylene glycol alkyl ethers.

JACOB FAUST.

REFERENCES CITED Tl..- following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Duncan Get. 8, 1946 Certificate of CorrectionPatent No.-2,454,828. November 30, 1948.

JACOB FAUST It is hereby certified that error appears in the printedspecification of the above numbered patentrequiring correction asfollows:

Columnl, line 1, before the words Petroleum mahogany and under thenumeral 1, insert the following paragraph: v

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in the viscosityreauction of petroleum mahogany sulfonate hydrocarbon solutions. This isa of my copending applwat'ion Serial No. 711,887, filed November 88,

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same-may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Ofice.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of April, A. D 1949.

moms F. MURPHY,

4m'e'tant Uommz'eaioher of Patents.

